As a card-carrying traditionalist, I’ve always been more than a little skeptical about the pointing Lab. Why fix something that ain’t broke, you know? Then I met hunting and fishing guide John Klus of Lake Waubesa, Wisconsin. Klus is the owner of Oscar, a blood-tracking dachshund that’s one of the damnedest little hunting dogs this side of Transylvania.
Even Oscar can’t do everything, though, which brings us to the pointing Lab. I’ll let Klus take it from here.
“I’d always had Brittanies for upland hunting and Chesapeakes for waterfowl,” he told me. “Then I ran into a gentleman from South Dakota who was adamant that one breed, the pointing Lab, could handle both tasks. A year later I got my first pointing Lab pup—and at 13 weeks of age ‘Mort’ was already pointing and retrieving. Thirteen weeks!
“That was ten years ago,” Klus continued, “and needless to say, I’ve become a pointing Lab convert. These aren’t your stereotypical 100-pound Labs. Pointing Labs have the traditional boxy ‘bear type’ head that we all love but their bodies are much sleeker. I like to say that they’re built like Ironman athletes. They can run all day in the uplands, but stick them in a duck blind and they can swim all day. They’re agile enough to run down a winged rooster pheasant, yet big enough to manhandle a fourteen-pound goose. So you really do get the best of both worlds.”
Klus noted, too, that his pointing Labs have required very little formal training.
“I was so amazed by the things Mort did naturally that I was constantly calling the breeder,” he laughed. “I told him that Mort had to be the Michael Jordan of pointing Labs. The breeder said, ‘I’m glad you like your pup, John—but they’re all like that.’”
Note to readers: If you’re moved to acquire a pointing Lab puppy and he’s not the Michael Jordan of his breed, please remember that I’m merely functioning as a reporter here. You pay your money, and you take your chances.
A whimsical look at the many roles your beloved Labrador retriever plays in your life. Just a sample of his many hidden talents include canine garbage disposal, security alarm, world-class athlete, border patrol agent, devoted fishing buddy and low-cost dishwasher.
This picture book consists of photos and short captions describing some of the myriad ways in which Labrador Retrievers and their humans interact. The adorable and hilarious photography in this book perfectly captures all the heartwarming, endearing characteristics that make him your best friend.
